Shadowlands

Dec. 24-30

The senior trio of Danny Pulido, Josiah Fredriksen and Joe Urban,

whose three-year varsity football tenure at Newport Harbor High include

30 victories, two trips to a CIF Southern Section title game, one section

and one league championship, earn top honors on the Daily Pilot’s

All-Newport-Mesa District team. Pulido, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound starting

receiver and outside linebacker, is the Most Valuable Player. Fredriksen,

who throws for 2,142 yards and 29 touchdowns, is Offensive Player of the

Year, while Urban, a middle linebacker who leads the Tars in tackles with

more than 100, is the Defensive Player of the Year. Newport’s Ray Ohrel,

Estancia’s James Dawkins, as well as the Costa Mesa wingback duo of Vince

Hamade and Steve Herzog earn All-Newport-Mesa District laurels.

The Estancia boys basketball team battles for a 61-53 win over Edison

in the final round of pool play in the 12th annual Daily Pilot Coast

Classic. With Eagle starters Brandon Casillas and James Dawkins on the

bench with four fouls each, host Estancia pokes its way through Edison’s

defense. Point guard Selwyn Marshall leads the Eagles with 28 points.

Estancia is also helped by super subs Evan Taboada and Gavin Rainey. Sam

Nelson adds 13 points and seven rebounds for the winners.

The Costa Mesa girls basketball team rips Pitt Meadows High, a team

from British Columbia, 50-27, in the opening round of the Coast Christmas

Classic. Senior point guard Koo Kim sparks the Mustangs, scoring a

game-high 15 points, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds and recording six

steals. Teammate Kelly Chapin also snags six steals. Senior Chantay

Peyton chips in 12 points and six boards.

Looking back, 10 years ago this week.

It’s tournament title basketball week.

The Estancia High boys basketball team uses its size advantage for a

69-58 victory over Interlake High at Bellevue, Wash. in a quarterfinal of

the Coast Christmas Classic. The Eagles size -- 6-foot-7 Matt Fuerbringer

and 6-7 Jeff Byrne -- is too much muscle for Interlake High’s outside

game. Fuerbringer scores a team-high 20 points, grabs nine rebounds,

blocks three shots and dishes out three assists. Byrne (14 points), Ty

Schisler (11) and Jim Faulkner (10) also finish in double figures for

Estancia.

Also in the Coast Christmas Classic, Newport Harbor defeats Dana

Hills, 60-40, in the consolation quarterfinals. Mike Ofer, the school’s

quarterback on the football team, scores 14 points and grabs a team-high

six rebounds. However, the Sailors, coached by Bob Serven, loses to

Interlake High, 66-58, in triple overtime, earlier in the tourney. The

Sailors are outscored 8-0, in the decisive extra period.

Jeff Pickens scores 23 points and grabs 15 rebounds to lead the Costa

Mesa boys basketball team to a 59-51 victory over Westminster in a

consolation round of the Century Tournament. The Mustangs build a 40-25

lead after three quarters. Matt Harber contributes, grabbing nine

rebounds, while junior guard Travis McLachlan comes off the bench to grab

six boards and record three steals.

The Newport Harbor boys soccer team earns its first victory of the

season in its sixth game, defeating Santa Barbara in a game decided on

penalty kicks in the second round of the Damien Tournament. It’s a

scoreless game in regulation, but the Sailors post a 4-3 edge on penalty

kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Mike Freeman helps provide the winning edge

for Newport by stopping two shots during the penalty kick phase. Jim

Hicks, Chris Ketchum, Doug Stuckey and Bryce Rose each convert a penalty

kick for the Sailors.

-- compiled by Steve Virgen